Blair Sandburg: Shaman, Guide, Wizard
by Amarin Rose
Summary: The Sentinel–Harry Potter Crossover Pairing: Jim–Blair Summary: When a Wizard named Severus Snape shows up, he gives the guys some...unexpected news. Really unexpected.
1. BS Doesn't Always Stand For

**BS Doesn't Always Stand For Blair Sandburg**

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_This story was actually inspired by a comment on the SENAD discussion list. Akilah wrote: 'I can kinda see Blair as a Wizard, actually. How long do you think Jim and Severus could stand around glaring at each other?' It all snowballed from there. _

_This also appeared as one of my entries in the Second Wave of the Sentinel & Guide Fuq-Q-Fest. The challenges answered were:_

_First Wave Easy Challenge #21: Who is Blair's father?  
First Wave Medium Challenge #12: Crossover challenge – cross the guys with another show. Harry Potter.  
Second Wave Easy Challenge #10: A new facet of the Sentinel/Guide relationship makes its appearance in Jim and Blair's lives. What is it?_

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"No way in hell," Ellison stated, finality in his voice, but not a hint of give. He folded his arms in front him and planted his feet, determined not to let the intruder **near** his Guide.

"Mr. Sandburg must come with me," Snape pronounced, not at all impressed with the Detective's posturing. "We can't have an untrained Wizard and Shaman running around; he needs a proper education. And he's not safe here."

"He's been doing just fine so far," Jim argued back. "I protect him – and I need him."

The Potion Master's brows rose. "For what?" he scoffed.

After squirming for a moment, Ellison finally decided that he would have to lay all his cards on the table, if for no other reason than whatever **magic** this guy had could take Blair away against his consent. Softly, he admitted, "To be my Guide."

Severus drew in a quick breath. "You're a Sentinel? Well, this changes everything."

Now that it looked like he was out of danger (and he knew Jim was going to beat himself up about this later, but really, who would be expecting someone to just **appear** in their living room? And that he was from someplace called 'Hogwarts' School for Witchcraft and Wizardry', and that Blair had to come with him?) Sandburg decided it was time to speak up for himself.

"I don't care if it changes anything. You could at least have had the courtesy to call first, or don't they do that where you're from?" Blair growled. Not giving the taller man time to respond, he continued, "And what do you mean, I **have** to go with you? I'm not going anywhere. And I may be a Shaman, but what the hell do you mean I'm a Wizard?"

Severus glared at him. "If you would be quiet for one moment," he gritted out between clenched teeth. "I would tell you."

Skimming a hand through the air in an 'After you' gesture, Blair perched on the couch arm while he waited for the other man to speak.

Huffing a bit, Severus said, "I've been trying to contact you ever since I found out about you."

Sensing more to his words than what the mysterious man was telling them, Jim said, "When **you** found out?"

Severus sighed, and sank down into the armchair. Turning to Blair, he asked, "Would it surprise you to know that your mother and I had a relationship around thirty-five years ago?"

Blair started. "Uh…yeah, actually. You don't look old enough."

Severus chuckled hollowly. "Wizards live about three times longer than muggles – regular humans. I'm actually fifty-five."

Wanting to believe, but not daring to hope, Blair said, "So…you're saying you're my…"

"Father, yes." Severus nodded, then shook his head. "Needless to say, it was a great shock to find out about you. I was concerned that my mother might have been injured in the last of the Death Eater riots – thankfully, she hadn't been. It was when I was searching for her that I came across you. I thought she was my only living relative, so I used a 'Find Family' spell – which found you."

"I'm glad your mother is okay," Blair offered.

Severus inclined his head and smiled tiredly. "So am I."

They sat in silence for a moment, and then Blair ventured, "Naomi never told me about you."

"Nor me about you," Severus returned softly. He sighed, running a hand through his dark locks. "And I'm sorry for the high-handed tactics, but some rather…unsavory characters…from my somewhat checkered past have found out about you, and I'm afraid of what they'll do."

"So you came here to protect him?" Jim asked skeptically. "He doesn't really need any 'training'?"

Snape shook his head, then changed his mind and nodded. "In point of fact, I came here to take him back to Hogwarts, which is warded against intruders. It would be easier to protect him there. I didn't know he had any magic in him until I got here. I may be a Wizard, but his mother is a muggle, which means he only had a 50% chance of having any magical ability." He smiled wryly. "It was quite a shock to find out he is both a Wizard **and** a Shaman. And yes, actually, he could use training – he doesn't **need** it, but magic is another weapon one can use to defend one's self. It would be wise if he got some instruction."

"I'm always up for learning new things – but I have a life here, I can't just leave on a moment's notice. Are you sure these people are after me?" Blair asked nervously.

"And how do we know we can trust you?" Jim interjected. "I mean, you show up here and say he's a **Wizard** and he **has** to come with you – how do we know any of this is true?"

Shooting the Detective a withering look, Severus said, "I appear from out of nowhere in the middle of your den and you don't think I can do magic?"

Jim growled. "Being able to do magic tricks doesn't make you Merlin."

Severus laughed. "Of course no; no matter how long Wizards live, we do eventually die. Merlin was rather long-lived for our kind, but he did pass on. At the ripe old age of four-hundred and twenty-three, I believe."

Blair blinked, then said excitedly, "You mean it was **real**? That whole thing about King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table…" He trailed off in disbelief.

"And Merlin, yes," Severus finished. "Not quite as the muggles would have it, but most of the larger details were true."

Shaking his head and holding up his hands, Jim interrupted with, "Okay, this is fascinating, but can we get back to the matter at hand?"

Snape glared at him. "And what, exactly, would you consider proof? I'm sure turning someone into a toad would convince someone of your ilk, but that's a complicated process, and I don't have the proper potion ingredients. And of course, there's the fact that neither of you would volunteer, I'm sure," he said dryly.

Returning the supposed Wizard's glare full-fold, Jim gritted out, "How about you turn **yourself** into a toad?" He was smarting at the implied insult in the other man's comments.

"How about you do that appearing thing?" Blair suggested, not wanting this disagreement to come to blows. "Can you…disappear from here and reappear across the room?"

Nodding, Severus said, "Yes, I could do that. I could go halfway across the world, and be back in seconds. But would that convince your Sentinel?" He said the word 'Sentinel' as if it were synonymous with 'idiot'.

His face reddening in anger, Jim suggested, "Why don't you **go** halfway across the world – back to Hogwarts, in fact – and just not come back?"

Blair sighed, and, rising from his seat on the couch arm, walked over to lay a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Jim, if I'm in danger…"

"Which we don't know for sure," Jim interjected.

"…**if** I'm in danger, and Severus can protect me, then we should at least try," Blair cajoled.

Jim huffed. "It's the people from **his** 'rather checkered' past who are planning to hurt you."

Kneading the tense muscles beneath his palm, Blair said, "Yes, but even without a checkered past, sometimes people from it will come after the ones you love," he said gently, reminding Jim of Oliver, Lila, Veronica…all people from the Sentinel's own past.

Sighing slightly and leaning back into Blair's touch, Jim grumbled, "Fine. I'll give him a chance. But there's no way he's taking you anywhere without me." He gave his Guide a stern look.

Blair only smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Big Guy."

Severus' clearing of his throat brought them back to reality. "I have to interrupt this tender moment," he said only slightly caustically, "but have you decided what you want me to do to prove myself to you?"

Jim shrugged, sighed, and gave in. "I guess the teleporting across the room thing would be enough." He shot Snape a hard look and said, "But that still doesn't prove whether or not we can trust you, only whether or not you're a Wizard."

"Jim, unless Naomi suddenly shows up and vouches for him, there's most likely no way he could prove whether or not we can trust him," Blair pointed out. "But if he says someone **is** after us, then maybe we should go with him. I mean, sure, he was a little pushy at first, but if he really wanted to hurt me, he could've just yanked me out of here. We should give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Thank you," Snape said primly, folding his arms in front of his chest. "But your Sentinel has a point – these are dangerous times, and it is only smart to be wary. Hogwarts is in Britain, and I would have to Apparate – er, teleport – with you there. Using Wizarding channels, you wouldn't need a muggle passport, but once you were there, I or another Wizard would have to bring you back. And you," he turned to Blair, "wouldn't really be safe until the war is over. Which could be some time."

Jim's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, 'these are dangerous times'? We defeated the Al-Quaida; there are no large-scale wars going on."

Snape shot him a withering look. "No **muggle** wars. But there has been a Wizarding War going on for several years." He sighed. "Lord Voldemort is a sadistic and evil…thing. I'm not sure you could refer to him as a man any longer. He makes Adolf Hitler seem like a minor irritant. And he's very…peeved with me, at the moment."

"What did you do?" Blair asked curiously.

Snape gave a gallows laugh. "I was a double agent, and I betrayed him. He's had people tortured for less. Much less…" his words tapered off, and his expression grew hazy, as if he was thinking of another time and place.

Jim had been monitoring Snape with his senses since he had arrived. The Sentinel could sense no deception on the Wizard's part, and was angry to realize that his Guide, his lover was in danger because of this man, who they had only met today! He knew it was not Snape's fault, however, and tried to rein in his rage. "Will Blair be safe at Hogwarts'?" he asked in a clipped voice.

Nodding curtly, Snape said, "It's probably the safest place he could be."

Waving his arms to get the other two's attention, Blair said, "Hey! Hey! I'm still here, guys. And however much you two want me to be safe, it's still **my** decision whether or not to go."

Giving his lover an uncomprehending look, Jim said, "Chief, you can't honestly mean that you don't want to go where it's safe?"

Blair scowled at his partner. "Weren't you the one who, not one minute ago, was wondering whether or not we could trust him?" He gestured at Snape, who was watching the two with interest.

Jim shuffled his feet and cleared his throat uneasily. "Well, I was…listening…to Snape, and he is telling the truth about all of this, the war… If you're in danger, I want to do everything I can to keep you safe. And if that means we go to Britain, then we go to Britain…provided you agree, of course," he groused. How was he supposed to keep Blair safe if Blair was against it?

Blair sighed and nodded. "I suppose I'll have to. It's a good thing the semester is over; otherwise I might lose my job. And speaking of jobs, what are you going to tell Simon?"

Jim shrugged, unconcerned. "I'll tell him it's a family emergency and take sick leave. I closed all my open cases yesterday, so I won't be leaving him in the lurch. If this goes on long enough to use up my vacation time, I can always take a leave of absence."

Blair's expression was equal parts awe, disbelief, and pure love. Reaching out to take Jim's hand in his own, he said, in a choked voice, "You'd do that for me?"

"To keep you safe, I'd do anything," Jim vowed softly, squeezing his partner's hand.

Severus cleared his throat uncomfortably. When the two men had turned his way, he said, "I'm sorry to interrupt this touching moment," and he did, indeed, sound apologetic, and not as snarky as before, "but I don't know how much time we have, so you should both pack and get your affairs in order quickly so we can leave as soon as possible. I'm going to go and set up wards around this building that will alert me if anyone dangerous shows up." With that, he disappeared from sight.

They were both silent for moment, then Blair turned a piercing gaze on his partner. "We'll be okay, Big Guy," he said softly. "I swear it."

Pulling his lover into a hug, Jim spoke gruffly into Blair's tangled curls. "I know we will, Chief. I know we will."

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THE END


	2. Never Underestimate A Devious Mind

**Never Underestimate A Devious Mind**

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"Where **are** we going?" Jim demanded irately as he dodged an elderly couple while trying to follow Blair and his father. Once he and his Guide had packed and made arrangements to be gone until further notice, Snape had shrunk their bags until they could fit all of their luggage into their pockets. Then he'd dragged them outside and started leading them west, without any explanations.

"To the park," Snape replied as he looked left, right, and left again before crossing the street towards their destination. "I do not rightly know how Apparation will affect you, being a Sentinel, and I want to do a few practice jaunts with you first before I take you both across the ocean."

"What could go wrong?" Blair asked worriedly. "I mean, it's only his senses that are heightened…"

"You're prone to motion sickness, yes?" Snape directed at Ellison as he walked down an almost deserted pathway further into the park.

Jim nodded and ducked a low-hanging tree branch. "Seasickness mostly; I do fine in cars and helicopters, not so well in planes."

"Apparation is a kind of travel; queasiness during transport is actually quite common, so it has the possibility to severely affect you. Ah, here we are," Snape said, coming upon a small clearing. "This should do nicely."

Scanning the nearby copses of trees, Jim nodded. "There isn't anyone around for about three or four blocks in any direction."

"Good, that will make things easier," Snape said. "We won't have to worry about any muggles seeing us."

Blair nodded in silent agreement.

"Now, stand on either side of me," Snape instructed briskly, and when the Sentinel and his Guide complied, he reached out and grabbed their hands. "I'm just going to transport us across this clearing. You'll want to close your eyes to help combat the vertigo," he warned.

Both Jim and Blair closed their eyes and tried to relax.

"Ready?" Snape asked at length.

The both nodded. "Ready," Blair added.

A tugging sensation at their skin was the only warning before it began. They both felt a pulling sensation, the promised vertigo rearing its disorientating head, and then it stopped almost before it began – with them on the other side of the clearing.

Blinking open his eyes, Blair turned quickly to Jim, dropping Snape's hand to see to his Sentinel. "You all right, Big Guy?" he asked in a quiet voice.

There was a slightly glassy look on Jim's face, and his pupils were dilated – not a zone-out, but his senses were definitely on high. He blinked as well, the haze clearing from his eyes. "Yeah," he said. "It was…weird…but I'm okay, Chief."

Blair gave his lover a measuring look, ensuring that Jim was telling him the truth, before nodding in acceptance. Turning to Snape, he said, "We're good."

"I am elated and overwhelmed by this wondrous corroboration of information," Snape said caustically, though not without appreciation for the results of their experiment.

_More likely elated we don't have to 'waste time' acclimating Jim to travel by Apparation,_ Blair thought bemusedly. Less than half an hour in his company, and Blair could already tell that his 'father' was not a very friendly person. It wasn't in his nature to be unnecessarily nice to people, even his own son. _But at least he's genuine in his expressions of feeling,_ Blair thought. _Which is more than you can say about seventy-five percent of the people you meet._

"All right, then," Snape said briskly. "Resume your former positions, and I will take us to Hogwarts."

Blair and Jim did as directed; once their hands were all connected, the pulling-tugging vertigo-inducing sensation started up again, this time lasting for almost a minute rather than a few seconds. When it finally ceased, Blair opened his eyes to see that they were in a small forest clearing. After spending a few moments taking in his surroundings, he remembered Jim. Quickly turning towards his lover, he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that Jim was all right.

Jim gave his lover a nod, indicating that he was all right, before turning to Snape. "Where are we?" he asked.

"We are right outside of Hogwarts," Snape said. "The school is warded to prevent people from Apparating right onto the school grounds, so we shall have to walk half a mile or so. Follow me."

Without waiting for their agreement, Snape turned down a nearby road, and they followed him down the winding pathway. It was only about ten minutes before they reached in a clearing in front of a large castle. It was straight out of a fairytale: huge, black, with turrets and towers, and a large spiked fence encircling it. There was an aura of mystery and, of course, magic about it, making the castle seem not so sinister as its dark appearance would indicate. There was no moat, but there was a drawbridge, and for some reason, Blair kept expecting a dragon to fly down on them from somewhere.

And in the middle of the clearing, standing right in front of the gate in the fence, was a man. A man who could also have been right out of a fairytale. He was dressed in blue robes covered with silver stars, making him look eerily – and rather cheesily – like Merlin had been portrayed Disney's 'Sword and the Stone'. His mane of long white hair was topped by a conical hat covered with more stars, and, incongruous with his magical attire, he was sucking on what appeared to be a lemon lollipop.

"Albus Dumbledore," Snape grumbled under his breath. "He's the Headmaster here at Hogwarts. Don't let his apparent insanity fool you – a more devious mind it has never been my displeasure to meet."

Catching sight of them – though Jim could tell the old man had known they were there since even before they'd entered the clearing – Dumbledore turned to them and smiled. "Ah, Severus, I see you have returned from your trip abroad," he greeted them, tucking the lollipop somewhere in his voluminous robes.

Jim almost chuckled as he recognized the look on Snape's face – it was the same one he himself used to get back when Blair first showed up: a combination of 'that is the most annoying person on the planet' and 'Good God, why do I put up with him?' with a little dash of 'I know he's only trying to help' thrown in for good measure.

"Yes, Headmaster, I have," Severus agreed curtly.

"It's always wonderful to welcome someone new into the family, isn't it, Severus?" Albus asked cheerily, smiling as he gestured towards Blair. "And in this case you get two instead of just one."

Snape's eye twitched. "Yes, only most people welcome new children soon after birth, not thirty years late."

Albus' eyes twinkled. "Well, then, it works out best all around, doesn't it?"

Snape only gave him a look, as if to say 'It does?'.

"We need a new Muggle Studies teacher, and I can't think of anything better than two people who've lived as muggles," Albus pronounced, giving both Jim and Blair a cheery smile.

"Muggle Studies?" Blair asked faintly.

"Oh, boy," Jim groaned.


End file.
